A Natural (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Catherine gets a little help as she prepares to read to Jacob's kindergarten class.


**Notes: **Readers and REAL McRollers – thank you for your incredibly positive reaction to the Allen family. I have a lot of ideas for them, and I am thrilled they've been so well-received! Thank you for your amazing support of the REAL World!

Mari and Sammy – thank you for the love and laughs every day!

Esther – you still rock! Thank you for your friendship and support.

I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

_A Natural (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

Catherine walked into the children's section at the Manoa Public Library and immediately spotted a familiar face.

A librarian with a long braid greeted her warmly at the desk. "Hi. What can I help you wi–" she stopped and her smile broadened. "Hey, I remember you. From storytime, right? Around Thanksgiving? You brought in your . . . niece, I think it was?"

"That's an impressive memory," Catherine said.

"Wait, wait, I'll get it . . ." she paused and then snapped her fingers and pointed. "Joan."

"Okay. Wow. That . . . really is impressive. There are so many people at those programs."

The librarian smiled and admitted, "I don't usually ask the adults, but I do like to learn the names of the kids if I can. Then I just think of the adults as Noah's grandma, or Alani's dad, or Joan's aunt."

Catherine smiled. "Well, I remember you are Miss Kristin."

"Just call me Kristin," she said with a laugh. "And you're . . ."

"Catherine."

"Nice to meet you. Now what can I help you with today?"

"I'm going to be reading to a kindergarten class on Friday, and I've never done that before. I mean, I've read to kids. Like . . . one-on-one, but . . ."

"But reading to a group is a totally different experience," Kristin agreed with a nod.

"Right. Do you have any book suggestions?"

Kristin raised her eyebrows. "Do I have any suggestions?" She laughed. "Oh, you have come to the right person." She stood and walked around the desk. "Ginny, I'll be in picture books for a bit," she told her co-worker.

"Okay. I'll handle things here."

"Follow me," Kristin said to Catherine. As they walked, she continued, "Now, is this for a special event or a themed unit or anything?"

"No, nothing like that. I just know one of the boys in the class and he wanted me to come to his school. I thought reading to the class would be good, so I contacted the teacher and she was really excited about the idea."

Kristin smiled. "That's fantastic. Kids _love_ when special guests come to their schools, especially at that age. They're going to be really excited you're there."

"Hope so," Catherine said.

Kristin gave her a reassuring smile. "Trust me. They will be." She stopped in front of an expansive array of picture books. "Now I usually opt for humor. And books that lend themselves well to audience participation. That gets the kids engaged. It's a personal preference, but I think it's also a good idea for your first time reading in front of a group of young kids."

She scanned the shelf, running her finger along the spines until she found a particular book.

"Oh good, it's in. I'm going to give you one of my favorites." She pulled the book out to show Catherine the cover. "_Count the Monkeys_. Hysterical. And works _really _well with a group." She flipped through a few of the pages. "Nice big illustrations. Lots of prompts for actions. And so, so funny. Every class I've read it to has loved it."

"Sold," Catherine said, taking the book and turning a few more pages. "Thanks."

"I do recommend taking a couple with you when you go. You'll probably have time to read more than one, and it's also just a good idea to have back-ups in case something isn't going over well."

"Okay."

"How about I pull a few that I like for that age and you take a look? It's important that _you _like the book you're reading. Kids can absolutely tell, and they'll enjoy it more if it's clear that you're enjoying it."

"Sounds good," Catherine said as Kristin began pulling other books off the shelf for her. "And thanks again, I wouldn't have even known where to start."

"Of course," Kristin said with a smile. "That's what I'm here for. And don't worry. The kids are going to be really happy you're there. Seriously. They might not be able to articulate it at that age, but the fact that you're taking time to read to them has a huge impact. It reinforces for them how important reading is."

Catherine smiled.

"Most important thing is to have fun," Kristin continued. "Kids feed off of your enthusiasm and vice versa. They'll have fun if you're having fun."

"Okay," Catherine said, her smile widening.

"Now this is another one of my favorites," Kristin said, showing her another book. "_Stuck_. I love this author's sense of humor and his illustration style." She flipped through a few pages. "It starts with a kite stuck in a tree and by the end you have a cat, a rowboat, a lighthouse, a whale, and a bunch of other stuff in there that he's thrown up to try and get the kite loose."

Catherine chuckled at the illustrations.

"That is a unique way to solve a problem," she said.

"And this one . . ."

Kristin showed her several more books, and Catherine selected a few to check out.

"Do you have any more advice for me?" she asked the librarian.

"Don't go in cold. Read them a few times, and at least once out loud before you go."

Catherine nodded, listening intently.

"When you're in front of the class, make sure everyone gets to see the pictures," Kristin continued. She smiled. "They will definitely let you know if you're turning the pages too fast or if they can't see."

"Right."

"Oh, and be prepared for interruptions. Even the best behaved classes can get so excited they just can't keep quiet."

"Okay."

"And be ready for the birthday phenomenon."

Catherine tilted her head, her brow knitted in confusion. "The . . . what?"

"It will inevitably be close to someone's birthday, even if it's just in the same month, and they will tell you. Which will lead to someone else telling you when their birthday is, and someone else, and someone else. Like dominoes. Never fails. Birthdays are a big deal. Especially with kindergarteners."

"Got it," Catherine said with a chuckle. She smiled gratefully. "Thank you again for all your help."

Kristin returned her smile. "You're very welcome. Good luck. And let me know how it goes."

"I will."

* * *

That evening Steve entered the living room from the kitchen after spending an hour in the garage with the Marquis. Catherine was sitting up straight on the edge of the couch and holding a picture book open to show Cammie who was patiently sitting in front of her.

He folded his arms and, with a broad smile, asked, "What do we have here?"

Catherine looked over at him, closing the book and holding it in her lap. "I'm . . . practicing. For Friday."

"Practicing?" he asked, walking towards her. "Why? You nervous about this?"

"A room full of six year olds? A little bit."

He laughed lightly as he stopped to rub Cammie's head. "Catherine . . ."

She sighed. "Not really nervous. I just . . . I want them to have a good time."

"They will. They're gonna be thrilled you're there."

She smiled, scooting in a little so he could sit beside her. "The librarian said the same thing."

"See? Take it from the expert." He shrugged. "I mean, you've already got one fan in the room."

Her smile widened. "Did I tell you Jacob asked about you when we went for shave ice the other day?"

"Oh yeah?"

"Well, not by name. He asked about my boyfriend."

"Ah," Steve said, smiling. "Do I have a rival?"

She laughed. "A pretty cute one."

"And _he_ was crazy about you after meeting you once. The other kids'll have the same reaction."

She smiled and kissed him lightly. "Thanks. I'm still gonna practice, though."

"Okay. Tell you what," he said, shifting off the couch to sit beside Cammie. He placed a hand on the dog's back, rubbing affectionately, and looked up at Catherine. "Go ahead. Practice."

"You're–" she started as he raised his eyebrows in question. She sighed. "Okay, well . . . now it's weird."

"_Now_ it's weird? Catherine, you were just reading a book called _Count the Monkeys_ to our dog."

"I think she was enjoying it," she said, reaching out to scratch under Cammie's chin.

He motioned at the book. "Then let's hear it."

She regarded him for a moment and then sighed again. "Okay . . . but don't get all . . ." she waved a hand. "You know . . . like you get."

"How do I 'get'?"

She gave him an indulgent smile. "Just . . . don't take it too seriously, okay? It's for little kids. It's supposed to be funny. So no comments on which animals are indigenous to where and why they wouldn't be found in the same geographic area."

"When do I ever–"

"How about at virtually every movie we go to?" she said, a teasing smile on her face.

He paused, running his tongue along his bottom lip and trying not to smile.

Nodding toward the book, he asked, "You gonna read or not?"

"Okay," she agreed, a challenge in her eyes. "But you have to do the humming and the high-fives and the other stuff in the book."

His eyebrows shot up. "I have to what?"

"There are actions that go along with the different scenes. Humming a happy tune, high-fiving the lumberjacks . . ."

"Lumberja–" he stopped. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea."

She rolled her eyes with a chuckle. "Steve . . ."

He waved his hand. "Go. Go. I'll . . ." he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'll high-five the lumberjack."

"Lumber_jacks_," she corrected, her mouth twitching up in a smile. "There's eight of 'em."

He gave her a look.

"You offered," she said with a smirk.

"I did," he admitted.

"Cammie did it."

He looked at the dog with a proud smile. "Did ya?" He rubbed Cammie's head.

"Cammie, high five," Catherine said, leaning forward and holding up her hand.

Cammie slapped at Catherine's hand with her paw.

"Good girl!" Catherine said, rubbing her head.

Steve grinned. "That never gets old."

Catherine sat back and raised her eyes in question. Steve sighed as he glanced at the book.

"All right," he said. "But there better be some compensation after this."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"Something more than a high-five."

She laughed and opened the book to the title page.

"Deal."

* * *

Friday morning, Catherine followed the secretary's directions to Jacob's kindergarten classroom.

She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and knocked lightly on the door as she opened it.

A middle-aged woman was sitting in a rocking chair in front of a group of twenty-five kindergarteners on a brightly colored carpet. They all looked over at Catherine as she came in.

"Friends, it looks like our special guest is here," the teacher said. She smiled a welcome to Catherine. "Come on in. We were just reviewing our carpet time expectations."

Catherine caught Jacob's eye. He was grinning broadly and trying to wave surreptitiously with his arm close to his side. She gave him a wink.

The teacher stood as Catherine approached.

"I'm Mrs. R. It's nice to finally meet you, Lieutenant. I've heard a lot about you from Jacob."

Catherine shook her hand and smiled. "Thank you for having me."

"We're delighted. Please, have a seat." She motioned to the rocking chair she had vacated and stepped to the side so Catherine could sit.

Catherine set her bag to the side of the chair and took a seat facing the kids.

"Jacob?" Mrs. R. asked as she pulled another chair to the side of the carpet for herself. "Do you want to introduce your friend to our class?"

Jacob practically jumped up from his spot on the carpet. He stepped around his classmates so he could stand beside Catherine. She smiled at him, and he bounced in place.

"This is Lieutenant Catherine," he said, looking at the other children. "She helped me shopping for Christmas presents and took me to get shave ice. She's really nice and she's kind of like a police officer 'cause she catches bad guys . . . and she picked out this shirt." He held the bottom of his minions t-shirt straight out to better display the image on the front. "She has a dog named Cammie and she said I could play with her soon and my mom said it was okay."

Mrs. R. smiled. "Thank you, Ja–"

"Oh, and she has a boyfriend, and he's really tall."

Catherine chuckled and glanced at Mrs. R. "Apparently his most memorable characteristic," she joked.

Mrs. R. laughed. "We'll have to have him in sometime, too. Okay, thank you, Jacob."

Jacob gave Catherine a beaming smile and as he made his way back to his seat, a girl in the front row raised her hand.

"Let's wait for question time, Takisha," Mrs. R. said. "I believe Lieutenant Catherine has a book to read to us. Or would you rather we call you Lieutenant Rollins?"

Catherine smiled. "Lieutenant Catherine is just fine." She reached inside her bag and pulled out a book. "I do have a book to read. I hope you all like it." She looked around at the children staring intently back at her. "It has a lot of animals we can count in it."

She watched as a few smiles spread on their faces.

"Okay, let's give it a try," she said and opened the book. "Are you ready to count the monkeys?"

Ten minutes later, Catherine had finished reading _Count the Monkeys_ and _Stuck_. The kindergarteners were buzzing with enthusiasm, fidgeting excitedly in their spots and murmuring to each other.

A smiling Mrs. R. raised her voice slightly to be heard. "Okay, I think we have a few minutes for questions before we have to go to music."

Several hands shot up into the air.

"Before I call on anyone, let's keep our question words in mind. I know you'd all like to _tell _Lieutenant Catherine something, but this is a time for _questions_. So what words do I want to hear?"

"W words!" her class chorused.

"Right. Like who, what, where, and when. And what about the ones that don't start with W? Oliver?" she asked, looking at a boy at the back of the carpet.

"How," he said.

"Good. And what's another one, Kalea?"

"Did," a girl in the middle of the group said.

"Yes. Now let's keep those in mind when you raise your hand with a _question_ for Lieutenant Catherine."

About half the class raised their hands.

"Keone, go ahead."

"Is your dog a big dog or a little dog?" the boy asked, and without waiting for an answer, continued, "I have a dog and his name is Po and he's _big_."

Catherine smiled. "My dog is big, too."

"Does he like to play in the water? Po does."

"_She_ does. My dog is girl. She loves the water."

"Thank you, Keone," Mrs. R. said. "Let's give someone else a chance. Sophia, what's your question?"

"Did you get those books at the library?"

"I did." Catherine gave the girl a knowing smile. "Can you tell me how you knew that?"

"I saw the white sticker on the side," she said, pointing at the spine labels on the books leaning against the chair. "Library books have those."

"That is very observant," Catherine said. "You picked up on that clue and figured out what it meant. That's kind of like what I do for my job."

Sophia's eyes widened. "It is?"

"It is."

Sophia straightened, a huge smile on her face.

"Jeremy," Mrs. R. called on another child.

"My birthday is January 25th," he said.

"Now, Jeremy . . ." Mrs. R. started.

"Is it?" Catherine said with a quick smile at Mrs. R. "Well, happy early birthday, Jeremy."

"My birthday is April 9," another boy said.

"And mine is June 30th," the girl beside him put in.

Catherine's eyes widened as the room erupted in birthday announcements.

"Okay, okay," Mrs. R. said, laughing. "Give me five." She put a hand up in the air and her students quickly stopped talking and did the same. "We have to get to music and I'm sure our guest has to get going. Friends, what should we say to Lieutenant Catherine?"

"Thank you, Lieutenant Catherine!" they chorused.

"And thank you, Jacob, for inviting our new friend," Mrs. R. said.

"Thank you for letting me come," Catherine said, smiling at the class. "I had a lot of fun."

"You're a natural," Mrs. R. told her. "We'd love to have you back."

Catherine's smile was bright as she stood.

"Lieutenant Catherine?" Jacob said, standing as well. "Can I have a hug before you go?"

"Absolutely," she said.

He hustled to the front and threw his arms around her waist. He was quickly joined by a few of his classmates until nearly all of the kindergarteners were trying to get close enough for a hug.

"Oh, okay," Catherine said in surprise, laughing.

"I told you," Mrs. R. beamed. "A natural."

* * *

Hope you enjoyed!

**Notes: **The books mentioned are indeed two of my favorites: _Count the Monkeys_, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell (Hyperion, 2013) and _Stuck_, by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel, 2011). Check out the covers on our Tumblr page mcrollintherealworld at tumblr dot com

And the birthday phenomenon is absolutely a thing. I rarely visit a kindergarten class where I don't experience it!

_You can still join our mailing list by emailing us realmcroll at yahoo dot com with Add me, please! in the subject line. We love to hear from you!_


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